Our Castle
by Siamesepolyporegoat
Summary: Akashi Seijuro is a single father of a five year old daughter, and today they decided to buy a new bed for her. Never did Seijuro think that he would be getting more out of this little trip.
1. Chapter 1

The day had been going well. Akashi Seijuro and his daughter, Akashi Akiko, were at a department store, planning to get a new bed for the little girl. They could've just ordered it online, but Akiko had insisted on going there in person and so they did. Seijuro, of course, didn't mind going shopping with his beloved daughter. In fact, he was more than happy to be with her.

They arrived at the bed section and Seijuro saw Akiko's maroon-colored eyes sparkle in excitement. Since it was summer she was wearing a pink flower dress, black ballerinas along with white knee socks and a small dark pink bow on her dark brown hair. Seijuro, on the other hand, had a red dress shirt along with black slacks and dark brown shoes.

"Anything you like?", Seijuro asked, looking down at his daughter with a smile.

"There's so many!", Akiko exclaimed, putting her hands on her cheeks. Seijuro chuckled, but his phone ringing interrupted the moment, earning a low groan out of him as he took it out of his pocket.

"Sorry, dear, I have to answer this. You can look through them, but don't stray too far from me, okay?", Seijuro said, before answering the call. The brunette girl nodded and skipped through the spaces between the beds.

Seijuro kept his eyes on the little girl while on phone, but turned away to look at his wristwatch quickly. In the moment he raised his eyes to search for Akiko, the girl was nowhere to be seen. He quickly ended the call and proceeded to search for the brunette. _Where could she disappear so quickly?,_ Seijuro thought, worry settling in his gut as he couldn't seem to find her.

After half an hour of searching, he was about to give up searching and go to the information desk to report a lost child, until he heard her voice. He followed it, and saw Akiko crying and a blue haired male, crouching down in front of her while patting her head.

"It's alright. I will help you find your father. Where did you see him last time?", the bluehead inquired from the child.

"In the bed place", the girl said sobbing. The male stood up and was about to offer Akiko his hand when they heard a voice call her.

"Akiko! Don't disappear like that!", Seijuro called out as he walked towards them swiftly. Akiko turned her head to the voice and quickly threw herself over his father.

"Papa!", Akiko cried as the redhead picked her up.

"I said not to go too far. Do you know how worried I was?", Seijuro asked, frowning slightly and Akiko only cried while nodding. He then turned to the cerulean haired man with eyes of the same color.

"I'm sorry to have caused trouble for you", Seijuro apologized politely, bowing his head slightly, and the other shrugged.

"It's alright. I saw her circling around and then she started crying. How could I just leave her be? I'm just happy to know that she's now fine", the sky blue eyed one said with quite small, but nonetheless bright and pure smile, and Seijuro felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. The crimson haired man cleared his throat.

"Let me buy you a dinner to repay your kindness", he suggested, even surprising himself, but the bluehead shaked his head hastily.

"Sorry, I already ate earlier and there's no need for you to repay anything. I just did what was right", the azure haired man convinced, giving the redhead another small smile.

"No, I insist. If dinner is a no go then how about I treat you to something at the coffee shop?", Seijuro persuaded, earning a sigh from the other.

"It seems you won't take 'no' as an answer", the male said and Seijuro gave an affirmative nod as the other sighed. "I guess I could come with you. I was going to go there to buy a vanilla milkshake for myself anyway", the blue eyed male complied.

"Good then. I'm Akashi Seijuro and this is my daughter, Akiko. It's a pleasure to meet you", Seijuro introduced, offering his free hand while his other held the little girl.

"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya. Nice to meet you, Akashi-san", the other, Tetsuya, said as he shook Seijuro's hand. "Nice to meet you, too, Akiko-chan", he said softly to the girl, who was looking curiously at the bluehead. She stayed silent for a short while, as if thinking about something, but her expression soon brightened up.

"Nice to meet you, Tet-chan!", Akiko greeted, gaining a disapproving look from his father and slightly surprised face from Tetsuya.

"Akiko, I have told you to be more polite", Seijuro chided, frowning a little.

"But Tet-chan is cute and kind. Suzu-chan told me I can call cute and kind people with nice names!", Akiko retorted, and the older Akashi let out a sigh.

"It's alright, Akashi-san. I don't mind", Tetsuya assured with a small smile.

"Fine then. I hope you aren't in a hurry, Kuroko-san, since we have to get a bed for Akiko", Seijuro inquired, but the girl interrupted them.

"We can get it after, papa", Akiko said, looking at his father with pleading eyes.

"I can wait just fine. I have no hurry", Tetsuya assured.

"No, Akiko's right. We can get it afterwards. Have you done your shopping?", Seijuro said.

"Yes, I was just ordering a table to my workplace and was about to leave."

"Perfect. Then shall we go, Kuroko-san?", Seijuro asked, letting the fidgeting child down and taking her hand instead. Tetsuya nodded and the trio headed for the coffee shop in the second floor of the department store.

On the way, they talked about mundane things, making small talk. When they arrived at the coffee shop, Seijuro took a coffee, Tetsuya a vanilla milkshake and Akiko a strawberry milkshake.

"So you work at a kindergarten? No wonder you seem knowledgeable about children", the redhead mused. They had been chatting while sipping on their respective drinks, inquiring about the other. Kuroko nodded.

"Yes, I have been working as a kindergarten teacher for almost two years now", Kuroko explained. "How about you, Akashi-san?"

"I'm a CEO at my company", Seijuro answered, and noticed the awe in the bluehead's expression.

"That's really amazing", Tetsuya complimented, smiling sincerely at the taller. Seijuro took a sip of his coffee, before shrugging.

"Not really. It's just to be expected", he said as he rested his chin on his hand.

"You sure are self-confident, Akashi-san", Tetsuya commented and the redhead shrugged in response.

"You don't have to be so polite. We are close in age, I presume?", Seijuro stated as he cocked a brow.

"Well, I'm 24. And you, Akashi- _kun_?", Kuroko asked, emphasizing the honorific as in asking for approval. Seijuro nodded.

"I'll be 25 in december, Kuroko", Seijuro responded. The sky blue eyed man was mildly surprised by the use of his name without any honorifics by the redhead, but didn't really mind it.

"Should I congratulate you in advance?", Tetsuya laughed slightly.

"So you don't want to see me again, Kuroko? That is quite mean", Seijuro said, trying to look hurt but the smirk on his face betrayed it. Tetsuya chuckled softly.

"Akashi-kun wants to see me again?", Tetsuya teased, but before the crimson haired male could respond, the third person butted in.

"Papa and Tet-chan are forgetting me! Pay attention to me too, Tet-chan", Akiko pouted, which made Tetsuya let out another chuckle.

"Well then, How old are you, Akiko-chan?" Tetsuya smiled at the small girl.

"I'm five!", Akiko exclaimed happily, while holding up five fingers to the kindergarten teacher. Seijuro chuckled as he watched the two interact. The trio kept chatting away for over half an hour, before they deemed it was time to stop. They exited the coffee shop with the brunette skipping happily as the adults followed after.

"Thank you for the milkshake and your company, Akashi-kun", Tetsuya thanked, smiling at the taller.

"You are the most welcome, Kuroko. But I have to thank you for your lovely company too. It was nice talking to you, and if you don't mind, I would like to speak to you more later", Seijuro said as he took a small notebook and pen out of his pocket, writing on one page before ripping it off. "Here's my number." He extended his hand, giving the small piece of paper to the bluehead, who gladly accepted it.

"Of course. I enjoyed speaking with you too, Akashi-kun. I'll be sure to text you later, if that is alright?", Tetsuya inquired, and Seijuro gave a nod of approval. Tetsuya bid them goodbye, before leaving Seijuro and Akiko to their own task.

The two Akashis soon found a good bed for the smaller, and after buying it, they headed home. Their butler and maids would've been able to assemble the bed by themselves, but of course Akiko wanted to help with it. Seijuro would've been more than willing to help too, since he would be spending time with the small girl, but his paperwork needed his attention.

When the scarlet haired father finished his work it was already 9 o'clock. He was going to check on Akiko, when he received a message. He took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the message.

 _From: Unknown_

 _Good evening, Akashi-kun. I hope, I'm not interrupting anything. I wanted to thank again for today. Also, if you have free time next weekend, I thought maybe you'd like to go out again? Akiko-chan could come too._

 _-Kuroko Tetsuya_

Seijuro smiled at the text, before saving the number and replying.

 _To: Kuroko Tetsuya_

 _Good evening, Kuroko. It sounds good. I have the whole weekend free, so just say a place and time and I'll be there. I'm sure Akiko would be overjoyed as well._

Pleased with his response, Seijuro exited his office to find Akiko. He found her in her room, playing with one of the maids on the bed with plushies.

"Papa! Look at the bed! We assembled it together!", the younger girl rejoiced, when she noticed his father, jumping up to hug him. The maid stood up from the bed and bowed politely at Seijuro, before excusing herself.

"Good job", Seijuro praised, affectionately ruffling his daughter's hair. "Akiko, what would you think, if we went somewhere with Kuroko next weekend?"

"We are going somewhere with Tet-chan? Yay!", Akiko celebrated, as the redhead's phone rang, signaling a message. He opened it. It included the time and place of their meeting. They would be meeting at the park entrance at 1PM on saturday.

Seijuro played with his daughter for a while, before tucking her in and reading a bedtime story for her. The redhead stayed up for a couple more hours, before going to sleep also. He kept thinking of their meeting with the intriguing bluehead, before falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The day was going to well so far. Seijuro was dressed in a black blazer over grey shirt along with dark grey jeans. He had woken up in high-spirits, but when he went to wake his daughter that changed. Akiko had gotten fever and was coughing badly.

"I told you to wear more yesterday. Of course, you caught cold with that light clothing", Seijuro scolded, sitting on the edge of her bed, while patting her head. "Now, I have to cancel our plans with Kuroko", he sighed and digged out his phone from his pocket. He was about to dial the number, when Akiko's hand stopped him.

"I can go! I'm fine. I wanna see Tet-chan, papa!", she insisted, tugging on his father's sleeve. Seijuro frowned.

"You can't go outside in this condition. We can ask to meet with him some other time", Seijuro suggested, before raising a brow. "But why do you want to see him so badly? We met him just yesterday."

"Tet-chan's smile is pretty and he was so kind, of course! Didn't papa think so too?", Akiko questioned. The redhead stilled for a moment to think about it. He did in fact feel some sort of weird attraction towards the blue haired male. After a while of thinking, he nodded.

"You are right. He is kind", Seijuro agreed, his voice and expression softening briefly, before going back to the previous conversation. "But we can't meet with him today. I will call him and after that I will get you some medicine."

"No! If we can't go there, then Tet-chan can come here!", Akiko protested, which made the older sigh.

"That's not a good idea. He might think we are pushy and feel uncomfortable", he said, his tone slightly exhausted.

"No, he won't! Tet-chan will definitely like it", the brunette girl claimed confidently.

"And how exactly do you know that?", Seijuro questioned, disbelief clear on his face.

"Woman's intuition!" Was her only answer, and Seijuro burst out into a deep laughter. _Of course, it would be something like that,_ Seijuro thought to himself.

"Okay then, we will see", he complied and dialed Tetsuya's number. It didn't take long, until the other answered.

" _Good morning, Akashi-kun",_ Tetsuya greeted.

"Good morning, Kuroko. About today. We can't come, because Akiko caught cold. Instead, we thought if you'd like to come over to our house?", Seijuro explained.

" _To your house? I'm not so sure about that...",_ the bluehead trailed off.

"I'm not going to force you, if you feel uncomfortable. We can meet some other time too. Akiko just insisted on seeing you today", Seijuro said, sighing at the last part. Tetsuya chuckled in the other end of the phone.

" _Is that so? Well, if it's alright, I could come to visit",_ he said a bit hesitantly.

"Of course", the scarlet haired male answered. He gave the other his address, but in the end Seijuro insisted on Tetsuya being picked up at his house by his chauffeur.

After three hours Tetsuya arrived at the Akashi household, which was more like a mansion than a house. Seijuro was waiting outside for him.

"Hello, Kuroko. How are you?", he greeted, when the other exited the car. Tetsuya was wearing navy blue duffel coat with baby blue pullover under, and black jeans.

"Hello, Akashi-kun. I'm fine, and you?", Tetsuya responded, giving the other a shy smile.

"I'm great. Let's go inside, shall we?", the redhead said, before leading them inside. When they stepped in, Akiko was waiting on them. She bounced on her feet, when they entered her eyesight.

"Tet-chan! Hi!", Akiko exclaimed in greeting, while skipping towards them. Seijuro frowned, his expression asking "why aren't you in bed?'", but the little girl only ignored it.

"Hello, Akiko-chan. How are you? I heard you have fever, so is it alright for you to be up?", Tetsuya asked softly, crouching to the girl's eye-level.

"Akiko is great! Fever can't keep me down!", the girl said enthusiastically with a grin, before jumping to hug the bluehead.

"I'm amazed that you have already tamed her. I should be jealous", Seijuro chuckled watching the two.

"Ah, sorry. It tends to happen all the time", Tetsuya said with a slightly nervous smile.

"Ooh? So Kuroko- _sensei_ is popular with children?", the crimson haired man smirked, gaining a flinch from the other. Tetsuya pouted.

"You enjoy teasing people, Akashi-kun?", he said, sulking slightly, and Seijuro only chuckled.

"Will Tet-chan and papa play with me?", Akiko asked, looking between the two.

"I'm fine with it, if your father doesn't mind", Tetsuya smiled at the smaller, who kept hugging him. She returned the smile and turned to his father.

"Papa?", she asked for permission, and Seijuro sighed, smiling slightly.

"Of course, but be sure not to overexert yourself since you still have fever", he consented. They decided to go to the living room. Tetsuya and Akiko settled on the floor to play, while Seijuro opted to just watch from an armchair. He chuckled as he watched the sky blue eyed male play with plushies along with his daughter. They exchanged small conversation in between the playing.

As the time went on Seijuro started thinking. He let his daughter, his most precious person, close to someone he barely even knew? Usually, he would be careful with this type of thing. Was it because Tetsuya was a kindergarten teacher? He wouldn't do anything bad to her then, of course. But could he be sure the other wasn't lying? No, he couldn't. Even so, he wasn't suspecting Tetsuya to be an evil person. Why was that?

Seijuro was snapped out of his musing, when Akiko started coughing.

"Are you alright, Akiko-chan?", the azure eyed one asked worriedly.

"Akiko, it's time you went to rest", Seijuro's deep voice commanded as he went to pick Akiko up. Tetsuya stood up and followed them to Akiko's room.

"I don't want to! I wanna play with Tet-chan more!", she protested as the redhead settled her down on the bed. Seijuro frowned, disapproving his daughter's protests. The brunette turned to Tetsuya.

"Tet-chan still wants to play with me, right?", she asked.

"Of course, but Akiko-chan needs rest. If your cold was to worsen it would only prevent you from playing, right? When you are better, I can play with you more", Tetsuya explained, and Akiko seemed to accept it since she laid down on her bed.

"If you need something, call me or one of the servants, okay?", Seijuro said, placing a kiss on the girl's forehead, and Akiko nodded her understanding. The two males left the room and headed back to the living room.

"I'm sorry for this, Kuroko. I should've known that she would push herself too much", the redhead sighed, giving the other an apologetic look. Tetsuya shook his head.

"No, it's alright. I like children and being with them always makes me happy", he said, giving the other a small smile as they arrived at the living room. Seijuro picked the plushies up from the floor and placed them on the armchair, he occupied a moment ago.

"It would be a shame if you left so soon, so won't you stay for dinner? I would like to get to know you better", the crimson haired male suggested. Tetsuya considered it for a moment. He didn't want to bother the other man, but it would be rude to leave so quickly, and in fact, he secretly wanted to get to know Seijuro better too.

"If I'm not going to trouble you, I would love to stay longer", he consented, smiling at the taller. Seijuro felt his heart skip a beat as he looked at the other. He had an inkling about what he was feeling, but he wanted to be sure and he would definitely make sure of it.

He sat down on a couch which was next to the armchair, and patted the place beside him. Tetsuya understood the gesture and sat down next to the redhead. They sat in a pleasant silence for a while, thinking about something to converse about. Seijuro was the first to break the silence.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Kuroko?", he asked, his face devoid of any emotion. Tetsuya on the other hand was stunned by the sudden question, but didn't let it show on his face.

"Why?", he asked instead of answering the question, his voice a soft whisper. Seijuro could see small tint of pink on the other's cheeks. _So he's the type that gets all shy when talking about these sort of things. How adorable,_ Seijuro noted, chuckling inwardly.

"Just curious. You don't seem to have an engagement ring so you aren't married. Maybe you had a lover, is what I thought", Seijuro explained and the other's face flushed in red even as he tried to keep a poker face.

"I have never gone out with anyone", Tetsuya murmured softly while fiddling with his fingers nervously. Seijuro was bewildered. Tetsuya didn't seem like the kind of guy to have played around with many women, but to have never dated anyone was a surprise.

"What about Akashi-kun? I haven't seen Akiko-chan's mother around. Where is she?", Tetsuya asked carefully. He wanted to know, but who knows what could have happened to her mother. And it really wasn't his business if Seijuro didn't want to talk about it.

"We divorced three years ago after she cheated on me. She's living in Spain with her new husband at the moment", Seijuro explained, his expression darkening as he remembered the woman.

Tetsuya fell silent as he watched Seijuro's grim expression. It took him a while to find his voice again.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories. Sorry", Tetsuya apologized, lowering his head slightly. _Now I went and made the atmosphere awkward. Good job, Tetsuya,_ he inwardly scolded himself.

"No, it's alright. It's been three years already. Besides, the marriage between us never was based on love. It was just convenient for both of our families so they decided that I would marry her. I'm actually much happier without her here", Seijuro explained, trying to reassure the azure haired man. Tetsuya nodded his understanding and decided to change the topic.

"Does Akashi-kun have hobbies?", he asked curiously, looking up to the male beside him.

"I'm quite fond of shogi. I also like reading, riding and basketball very much", Seijuro answered before turning to the smaller. "How about you, Kuroko?"

"I also play basketball when I have time and reading is always pleasing", the bluehead said smiling shyly.

"That's a surprise. You don't seem very...athletic", Seijuro commented, frowning slightly when it didn't come out as polite as he wanted.

"How rude, Akashi-kun. I'm quite strong, just for you information", Tetsuya said pouting and the redhead let out a quiet chuckle at the other's cute expression. _So cute,_ Seijuro thought.

"I'm not cute, Akashi-kun", Tetsuya retorted and it seemed like he said it aloud accidentally.

"Is that so? In my eyes, you are quite a cutie", the redhead teased, smirking mischievously. The other blushed slightly and Seijuro seemed to take pleasure out of teasing him.

"You really are mean, Akashi-kun", Tetsuya said averting his eyes as his cheeks burned. Seijuro chuckled, but their moment was interrupted.

"Papa, don't be mean to Tet-chan." Both of the adults turned to look behind them to see Akiko in the doorway. She had changed into her pajama and had a blanket over her shoulders as she dragged it behind her. Seijuro smiled at his daughter affectionately before speaking.

"I'm just bonding with him, in some sense, Akiko", the red eyed man explained with a little wink in Tetsuya's direction. The bluehead just rolled his eyes in response, before turning to the small girl.

"Akiko-chan, are you alright to be walking around?", he asked her to which she nodded determinedly, before walking over to the couch and sitting between them.

"You still have fever, Akiko", Seijuro confirmed as he pressed his hand to the girl's forehead.

"I'm fine, papa!", Akiko claimed as she frowned up at his father, who sighed. Tetsuya giggled slightly at the two's interaction to which Seijuro raised an eyebrow.

"What seems to be so funny, Kuroko?", the redhead asked and Tetsuya shook his head.

"Sorry. It's just that Akashi-kun seems like the sort of person to never submit to anyone, but even so Akiko-chan has all this control over you", he explained while trying to hold back a chuckle. Frown slid to the taller's face as he proceeded the other's words.

"You are correct about me not submitting to anyone, but I have to correct you. Akiko doesn't have a control over me. I'm just listening to her requests like a good father", Seijuro corrected to which the blue eyed male let out another soft chuckle.

The three of them conversed with each other for a quite a while, until Akiko got bored and turned on the tv. They watched it the remaining time before dinner. Then when it was dinnertime, they exchanged small talk in the table. All of them enjoyed themselves and Akiko got upset when Tetsuya had to leave.

"We can spend time together some other time, Akiko-chan. So don't worry, okay?", Tetsuya tried to reassure the small child, who nodded in response.

"That's a promise", Akiko declared and raised her pinky finger to seal the promise. The bluehead smiled and entwined his finger with her, promising to see them as soon as possible.

"I have arranged the driver to take you back, Kuroko. I would've gone with you, but I have to look after Akiko. It was a pleasure to have you here. Have a safe trip home. See you soon, Kuroko", Seijuro said with a small smile on his lips.

"I had fun, but I hope Akiko-chan gets better soon. See you, Akashi-kun, Akiko-chan", Tetsuya bid as he turned to walk to the car, but stopped in his track and turned to look back. "And I never really denied it earlier, since we were interrupted, but I'm not cute, Akashi-kun."

Tetsuya then walked to the car and got in, leaving behind surprised Seijuro and mildly confused Akiko. Seijuro chuckled slightly. _He was bothered by that? He truly is one big mystery,_ he mused.

"Let's go back inside, Akiko", he said and the two of them went back inside their house. The day had been quite calm but lively all the same and Seijuro felt like this was start of something new in his life.


End file.
